The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, May 17, 1917, Page 11

Making Better Babies Possible == EVERAL little tots are play- @ ing in a sandpile, happy and contented as children can be. @ A few more are in the house sitting around the little kind- ergarten table while in another room the baby of the house is calling in no uncertain terms for her dinner. The “house-mother’ comes hastily to her rescue with a bottle and all is well. Everything 1s immaculate and neat. The clean smiling faces of the little folks and their happy childish play tell a story of their own. The little people of today are getting more real practical care than was ever before known in the world’s history. The' public is waking up to the fact that it is the public’s business to look after the welfare of future citizens and pee that they have the right start in life. The “better babies” campaign, the visiting nurse of the Associated Charities, the school nurse and the day nursery all mean better care, a better chance and naturally better all-around children. WHY THE CHILDREN MAKE POOR. GRADES In going about with the school nurse one day I saw many things which show why children are doing such poor work in school. Bad tonsils, decayed teeth, defective eyes and adenoids are the principal causes of low grades and no progress. Several of the first and sec- ond grade children are that is they are in the same grade two or three years. Why? Because they are not physically able to do good work in school for lack of proper care. Some that I saw in the upper grades were nervous, hard of hearing, indiffer- ent and made low grades. Some were very near sighted, had very bad ton- sils which cause sore throat, and adenoids. Nearly every child who had cards for the school nurse to inspect was puny and delicate looking. Unless “repeaters,” S S e i Some Plans That Would Help Farm Women and Children given prompt attention in the lower grades by the time such children are ready for high school, they do not readily respond to treatment. This in turn means more work and more ex- pense, besides depriving the child of its inherent right to be well and happy. More than that they grow up indiffer- ent to the higher, better things of life and frequently are utterly incapable of making a living. g There is much pathos and some humor in the school nurse’s work. She has a card system which shows briefly the various ailments of the child, his grades, etc. The first visit to the parents is to try to co-operate and have the parents take.care of the chil- dren. The nurse can send them home to be washed up, also in the case of mneglected hair and in case of infectious and contagious diseases the health of- ficer steps in and helps to enforce the law. A TASK THAT TAKES . RARE TACTFULNESS The school nurse also visits the homes to investigate cases of reported illness and absence from school. Oc- casionally the parents resent any’ seeming interference so that patience and tact on the part of the nurse are very necessary. Her work is another instance of pioneering and building for the future in order that the boys and girls of today may be better, stronger men and women of tomorrow. The work of a school nurse greatly aids the teachers in getting to the very bottom of the cause of children’s poor work and also brings the teacher and Children in the day nursery. Their mothers can l€ave them there knowing they will be well fed and cared for. For the Boys and Girls---Timepieces Y 1837 practically all clock works were made of brass and were much improved and cheaper. With this date the period of old clocks end. The parent of the watch is the ancient tower clock. Watches have interesting histories too. The Swiss watch indus- try was founded at Geneva in 1587 by Charles Cusin, of Antun, Burgundy. That it grew slowly there is shown by the fact that a century later Geneva had only 100 watch makers who em- ployed 300 assistants. In 1760 there were 800 watch makers established in Geneva with almost 6000 employes. Watch-making grew more rapidly in gome - parts of Switzerland. than. in others. By 1840 some cantons were very much ‘given to watch-making giving employment to nearly one-third of the population. La Chaux-de-Fonds §s today thé leading exporter of gold watches, 'and 'canton Berne enjoys a gimilar reputation for silver and base- metal “watches. ' Watch-making for hundreds of years has been a house- hold industry in Switzérland. The perfecting of the stem-wind and Jater the manufacture of watch cases by machinery came later. ‘Watches are made pretty much alike the ‘world over, dbut the Swiss watches in general are of the lever and cylinder movement. The cheaper grades of watches are mostly made of the cylinder movement. - One .you earn. in every twelve of the population of Switzerland is directly concerned with watch-making. Some old watches are quaint and curious and the Kkey-winding cases look queer and clumsy today. The old wooden ' clocks of by-gone days are full of interest, and could tell many strange stories could they but talk. In England there are some very curious examples of old clocks, many of which are attached to the old churches or placed in a prominent place where the public could see the time, for few watches if any existed then. The clock at Rye church in Sussex ' is said to be the oldest clock actually going in England. Tradition says it was given to the town by Queen Bess, having been captured from the Span- ish Armada. The pendulum of this clock comes through the ceiling into the church and the tick-tock can be heard by those attending church. The clock in Wells Cathedral is another one which is interesting. It can be seen in the northwestern transept and origin- ally came from Glastonbury Abbey, the place where the holy thorn is supposed to exist. Many of the old clock figures were of many designs which would strike the hours with hammers. Shakespeare .called them “Jacks o’ the clock.” Some of them are well preserved. One of these Jacks can”be seen at Suffolk and is called “Jack the smiter,” because he smites the hours with-a hammer. This figure bears the date of 1460 and rep- resents a man in armour. In collecting watches and clocks many varied and interesting things are learned because they have done their part in making history. Clocks of many shapes and many nations all can tell stories of their own. - The Rural Teacher By Mrs. J. E. Darling, Claire City, 8. D. Teachers as a rule are not organized _and for this reason have no opportuni- ties; unless you call “The Teachers’ Agency” an opportunity—to whom you give a certain per cent of every dollar Consequently they drift Van Dyke Point Lace AR “1st row—Ch 13, count back to 4th st from hook and fasten with dc to make a p,,ch 4, p, ch 4, p. This makes a group of three picots. 2nd row—ch 9, p from 4th st of hook, ch 4, p, ch. 4, p, ch 9. 3rd row—7 p, 5 dc in ch to make bar, 3 p, 5dcin ch, 3 p, 5 dc, ch 13. 4th row—p, ch 2, join into middle of p group, p, ch 9, p, ch 2, join into mid- dle of p group, ch 9, 7 p. Repeat from third row. The point effect can be varied from the number of p groups. Coarser thread than shown in illustration is more effective than thread too fine. along from year to vear earning about four hundred dollars and spending the greatest part of that looking for a new position or qualifying for the old—both are necessary. 5 I have been a teacher myself for the Jpast ten years and can give an itemized account of the rural teacher's expense, based on my own experience. Board for eight or nine months including the month of De- CemMbEr ........iiieiennnn ve...$150.00 Clothing for one year....... .., 100.00 Summer school or institute.... 50.00 Incidental expenses ........... 20.00 Total .....ccovveveneneees..$320.00 Deduct this from four hundred and you have eighty dollars left to pay your board during the summer, when there is no school. Just try it, maybe you will come out even and maybé you wont—I have done both. I want to say right here that a teacher might find employment during the summer months, if that time was not divided, by attending institute. (Continued on page 13) RLEVEN ;. parent closer together for the common good of the child. FEven the kinder- garten children are looked after and many a child is given a new lease of life after a little care and attention. The body takes on flesh, the eyes sparkle, better grades are made and the child becomes more nearly normal. The visiting nurse of the Associated Charities in the large towns and cities is' doing well her part to help along the general uplift of common human- ity. She is making her round of calls day after day looking about to see that the poor and needy have some of the necessities of life, doing the many practical kind things which mean much 10 smooth down the hard rough places. FARM MOTHERS NEED THIS ON SHOPPING DAYS The day nursery is very interesting and just the place for the farm women to leave their children when shopping. The opening paragraph of this story portrays the scene which met my eyes the day. I called there. The nursery in Fargo has been open since Feb. 19, 1917. In 25 days 30 different children were in the nursery 85 times. As many as seventeen have been there at one time. A mother who has to make the living has left her baby there every day since it was five days old. So far practically all the little folks left there are too small to be left alone. To the mothers who of necessity are the breadwinners, the day nursery is of inestimable value. Some of the chil- dren are brought there as early as 7 a. m. and are left there until 5 p. m. The mother can leave them there se- cure in-the knowledge that they are well fed, well housed and well cared for. Miss Sadie Barrett, the “house- mother” wishes that the public in general would improve the opportuni- ties the nursery offers because it is open to all who could be benefitted by using it. People living near enough to come and get the children left in her care are entitled to its use. This is particularly true for the farm women who have little folks to carry around when shopping. This means much to mothers and child for both get tired out after a ride to town. The possibilities of a woman’s wait- ing room and a day nursery in the smaller towns are unlimited. Many a tired mother and tired child could testify to its usefulness. A room in the school house could be cheaply and easily fitted up, if no other place could be secured. As Saturday is usually the day farmers do their shopping, this would in no way interfere with school work. During the summer this would give abundant opportunity to keep the school house open and establish a com= munity spirit well worth while. A school nurse in her uniform. They are required to have the same training as other nurses.